Packaging and Sustainability - An Open Dialogue Between Stakeholders

Packaging is a hot topic in sustainability circles. The key question about packaging is the following: Given the economic and environmental costs and benefits of different materials, different designs, different applications and different logistical operations, how can we effectively manage these variables to make the most appropriate packaging decisions?

This is the question raised in a paper called “Packaging and Sustainability” published last October by Europen, The European Organization for Packaging and the Environment. I say “how can we effectively manage these variables” rather than “how can the value chain effectively manage these variables” as the paper does because I suspect many eyes glaze over at the term “value chain.” And I think that term obscures the reality that there are lots of real people involved here representing manufacturers, logistics providers, retailers, consumers and waste management companies, among others.

Packaging Presents Complicated Tradeoffs

The need to balance complicated tradeoffs is what makes packaging such a challenging area. The model above, which was reproduced in the paper and provided by Stockholm-based Innventia, a firm that conducts research and development in pulp, paper, graphic media, packaging and biorefining, shows one example of a packaging trade off. The graphic suggests that there is an optimum quantity of packaging material that does the best job of protecting both the environment and the product. It also makes the point that under-packaging, which results in product loss and waste, has a greater negative environmental impact than over-packaging.

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